Love it. The end.
I probably could and maybe should end with that, because anything more i say will simply be a less awesome version of the experience you would get if you read this book– which, why haven’t you? Get it and read it now!
If I Was Your Girl is a coming of age novel, and as such it hits many of the beats you would expect. One thing that makes this novel different, however, is that the main character is a very typical insecure young woman going through all the changes and insecurities that come with being a new girl in a new school, falling in love for the first time, trying to relate to her estranged father, but who happens to have been born in the wrong body. She was born male, but always knew she was a girl.
In addition, the story takes place in the American South, and the character was raised as a fundamentalist Christian, thus having to deal with the conflicts created by an upbringing that says she will burn in hell for being true to herself, while also insisting she should be true to herself.
What’s especially beautiful is that we see that she is a person, and I would say just a person. She has the same needs and wants, the same fears and insecurities as anyone else. But, of course, she also has additional fears, fears of rejection, fears of being the target of violence, which she has been subjected to throughout her life.
This one brought tears to my eyes more than once, but it also brought laughter and joy, and ultimately great admiration for the craftsmanship of this author. Can’t wait for more!
T.G. Kadee 